Elastic-fluid turbine.



No. 868,569. PATENTED UGT. 15

O. JUNGGRBN.

. ELASTIG FLUID TURBIN APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5 Inventor: y Oscar dun'reh, f J .A I y. l

Witnesses:

Y oscila ruitsensu, oFl SCHENECTADY,'NEW YoRK, Ass'rGNoE 'ro GENERAL ELECTRIC.

COMPANY, A'CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELAsTIG-FLUD TURBINE.

To all/w-hom it may concern: i

vvBe it known that I, OsoAaJuNsGREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, 'county of Schenectady, .State of vNew York, have invented ,-certain new and useful Improvements in Means for' Increasing thevCapacity of ElasticyFluid Turbines, of.

' which the following is a specification.

The limiting feature in prior existing turbines of the 1nulti-stage jetl type is the last stage wherein the nozzles cover theentireoi-.substantially theentire "wheel, and it is impracticable for many reasons to increase thedimensions' of the -nozzles and buckets-above a certain point .The chiefA reasonresides in the fact that iffthebucketsl'a're unduly' deep they will not be Vstrong enough -to withstand' the centrifugal strains.

. The capacity can be increased by increasing the pressure ofthe motive fluid, but this Ais accompanied by a sacrifice in economy, because the percentage of energy abstracted is less than under normalconditions.-

"lfhe object oi-the'present'invention is to increase the capa'cty of multistage elastic-fluid turbines, and `r nore especially those of 'the jcttype without increasing the the' bucket speed.)

At the presenttimeljn 'order to obtain a maximum output with a minimum size machine, one Wheel-` the last'one, Yis soairanged that the motive fluid acts onall or substantially all of its buckets. There may be a v'few idle buckets in certain cases, but practically speaking, all of the buckets are relied upon to perform useful `work The preceding stage of higher pressure has a less number of active Vbuckets which receive fluid from nozzles or other discharging devices preferablyarranged in one or more groups. The active area of thewheel represented by a certain number of buckets varies with the number of stages of which the turbine is composed,

and also with the volume of ,motive fluid to be handled,

" but in any case it should be great enough to handle the totalv volume ofmotive fluid discharged .by the preceding nozzle or nozzle sections with'out undue restriction, yet small enough to prevent an excess supply to ,the last stage.` To state the matter differently, since th'elast stage can only handle a certain amount of fluid 'due to its liinitation in size, both as to diameter and crosssectional area Aof the bucket spacesor -working passagel or passages, it follows tha if there is to bel' no restriction to thefluid flow, the stage preceding the last must only'accommodate such an amount of 'l fluid, whenproperly renozzled by the laststage noz/zles,

aswill be sufficient to fill the bucket spaces of said last stage, and no more.

'lhesame-relation bet' veen 'one stage-and the next exists irrespective. of the terminal pressures", whether they behigh or low. For example, in'the'case of a :jour-stage machine, the-active area of the secondistage Specification of LettersiPatent. application ned Hay 2 6, 1,904.,serinNo. 209,887.'

Patented oct. 15, i907.

wheel is somewhat greater than of the first, the active' area of thethird stage wheel is greater than.the second,

and the active area of the fourth, stage'wheel is still greater and includes all or substantially all of the buckets, In other words, there is an ever increasing active wheel area from, the inlet to the last wheel where all of the buckets are active. In using the term -sub# -stantially all, I mean that the major'- portion of the buckets is' normally active under full load conditions.

In carrying outl my invention, the same general stage arrangement abovev specified is' followed except that I double the'capacity o f the turbine by providing the last stage with two'or'nlrewheels whose buckets are all or substantially all active'. This means that the wheel or wheels inthe stage immediately preceding the last, instead of having only a fraction of their area utilized, have-their entire'area utilized, which means a corresponding increase in the work performed. To

state the matter in a different way, the limitation on turbines of theA multi-stage j et type as# constructed prior to my invention is the last wheel wherein all of the buckets are active, the other wheelsbeing only partially active.

According to my invention I double the capacity of the last stage by adding a wheel, bothof said wheels being arranged to perform equal or substantially equal amounts. of work. Since the capacity of the last stage' is doubled, the preceding stage should also be doubled,

and the wheel which was only partially active before now becomes fully active` The 'next preceding wheel, Where such a wheel is employed, 'also has its active area increased, and so on through as many stages as are desired. The motive fluid passes. from one stage to another through suitable nozzles arranged to convert thermal energy into kinetic energy in the form of velocity.

until. the last stage is reached, wherein two or more wheels fare fed in multiple from a preceding stage of higher pressure. Under most conditions it would be Y prefeiable to employ two wheels in the last stage, but

in certain cases more may be provided. Arrangements are provided whereby the suppl) of motive fluid to one wheel in the last stage can bereduced or c ut off en,-

tirely, depending upon the load conditions. When one wheel is cut out of service it offers very little opposition v to rotation because of the fact that it is moving in a' vacuum, or in a fluid medium whose density is low.: One or more yalved conduits or passages are employed to convey the motive fluid from a preceding stage of higher pressure to one of the wheels located within the exhaust chamber, which chamber is or may be subjected to the influence oa condenser. The other wheel of 14 the last stage may bfc fed by nozzlesin-the usual way valved o runvalved conduits.

fromthe adjacent stage, or it. may be supplied by,

' 25 addition of a single 'wheel placed in a chamber which "30 be divided into sections, cach section connected by af june 2 6,19e6,as Patent $24,546.

' The wheels in the last stage are preferably but. not

necessarily opposed toeach other, so that the fluidex# hausting therefrom enters the common .chamber between tliem before passing to the condenser. This 5 means in a vertical machine,-.and it may be said that the invention includes horizontal machines alsof-that.

the nozzles supplying one wheel discharge downwardly,-

While the nozzles for .the 4other wheel discharge'upwardly. When the wheels are mounted on the same 1 0 shaft andthereiore revolve in the same direction, the

angle'of discharge of the lower nozzles must be reversedjvith respect to the others. When -the wheels rotate ,in opposite directions, the angle of discharge wvouldbc thesame.

The last or what maybe termed the additional or auxiliary wheel is mounted vin the lower part of the base of the machine, and since this chamber is normallyof ample proportions, it does not have to be enlarged, or atleast enlarged by any considerable amount, hence the longitudinal dimension of the -turbine is not changed, or at least only slightly.

By reason ef my improved construction 'l can double' the capacity o a given machine.` ln o ther words, the active b ucket area has been loulbled, and thisby the normally contains only exhaustfluid.

The base is or may -bc cored cnt to for-m a supply chamber :for supplying fluid to the nozzles or nozzle passages of the last wheel. The supply chamber may@ conduitl with the so'urce'of supply', which conduit is bolted to the casing or is formed as a part thereof. lnv I ,wheel will operate at a somewhat higher temperaturevsome cases the supply chamber is made continuous and 'one or more conduits employed to convey fluid thereto. 55 The valves in the conduits may be operated auto-nietL i ically or by handi- When automatic they mayrespond to changes in' position of a governor, or to variations in stage pressure.

Another advantage of my improved construction re` 40 sides in the fact that `the two last wheels discharge into 4a common chamber, hence the necessity'of a partition, wall 'or diaphragm between them is obviated. ln this i way I obtain in the present Vembodiment the effect of five wheels with only threeliaphragms. By closing thechamber in which the upwardly extending nozzles and last wheel are located vto a' greater or less extent, I cancompensate to a greater or less degree for` any downward thrust which may beexerted byjthe other parts of thel turbine. ln other words a certain pressure may exist under the last wheel which tends to oppose any pressure in-the preceding stageior stages, -and which 'tends to relieve the weight on' the step or thrust bearing whenithe invention is applied to Verticalons'tructions. u i Y Motive fluidlnay be admitted to the first stage by any suitable means responding to an automaticfg-overnor. I prefer to use separately actuated vvalves, each controlling a'n'ozzle or nozzle section, which have anopen and a closed position but no intermediate, since by so doing all tendencyto throttle the fluid is avoided. 4I may` also use this same arrangement for controlling the supply of' fluid to the last wheel. 'r1 e feature uf the separately actuated valves is more-fully s et forth in my apmissi'uu'uf fluid to the 1an when s' When the turbineoccupies a vertical position, the weight of the revolving parts is carried by astep or thrust 'bearing located at any convenient point.

In using the term bucket wheel I do not confine myself to the constructionjshown wherein two rows of buckets are mounted on a common support for fractionally abstractirig the velocity of the motive Huid since one or more rows can be employed, and where more than -a single row is employed, each row can have its own v individualsupport. A i 75 lt has been demonstrated in 'connection with certain types of turbines employing large wheels that the admission side ofthe wheels is heated to a greater degree than the exhaust side, which causes a distortion ofthe vwheel.` That is to say, 'the admissn'on side expands 80 more than the exhaust side and bends. the wheel so that the wheel buckets either rub en `he stationary parts or on the parts rotating in .an opposite direction -orc'ut down4 the clearance abnormally on one side and .increase it on the other. 'I amable to prevent this obj ec- .85 tionable distortion by so arranging the .wheels or parts# that the tendency to distortion by one wheel or' partis counteracted or neutralized by another wheel or.pa1 't. i -I'n carrying out this feature. of my invention the Wheels are suitably mounted on tlie shaft, and-the nozzles or discharging devices arranged to discharge. steam` or 'other elastic fluid against the buckets in the proper 'mannen Asa broad proposition', the fluid 'Y ows thi'ough'one wheel of, a'pair ih'one-directin, andv through the 'other wheel 'in the opposite direction.' 95

This arrangement is also desirable in that it reduces the tendency Ato end thrust. The admission side of, each than the exhaust side; and between the wheels is placed a means-whereby'thetendency to distortion by 00 l one.wheel is resisted by one or more'wheels. Itis a satisfactory construction toarrange the wheels in pairs or to treatthem as pairs, and to locate between each pair a connecting device, wall bridgel orstiut so that the or substantially equal and opposite tendency on the vpart o f the other-wheel or wheels. 1n the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of my inventiondiigure l is`a partial vertical section of an elastic fluid turbine of thejet type; Fig."2 is-a cross-section of the same onal reduced/scale and takenonthe line of division between lthe'base andthe lower set ofnozzles; and Fig. 3 is a lietailedview in section of the automatic 'valy'e'for controllingztlie ad? tendency of one wheel'to distort is opposed by an equal 105 1 15 1-represents the verticalshaft'efa-turbine'which is supported .by a step' bearing 2. Mounted on the shaft" are wheelsA 3 having one or more rows ofpe'ripheral buck'ets` Surrounding the wheel'is a casing'llmade up j -insuitable sections. The upper end of the Casing is 120 closed in by a cover or head- 5. The casing is mounted i -upon a base 6, which' rests on a masonry or other suitable foundation. VThe"b ase is provided with a chamber 7 whichforms apart of a condenser or is connected to a separate condenser by-.the conduit 8. Situated 4be- 125" tween the wheels, with the exception of the last two. 'are diaphragms 9` which divide 'the turbine into stages.A The upper 'diaphragm' maybe made smalle; than the rest on account-of the heayy prssreto which it is sub'- jected. This diaphragm is supported a.. sho ulder 10- 130 passage of luid through the right-hand conduit.

formed on the inside'of the casing. The shoulder portion is also provided with nozzle passages ll for supplying motive fluid to the adjacent bucket wheels. The other diaphragms are also supported on shoulders carriedby the casing, butthe nozzles instead of being a part oY the shoulder are formed in or are attached to the diaphragms. The last two Wheels are situated at opposite ends of the chamber7 in the base, and discharge in opposite directions.' That is to say, the fluid exhaust-A ing from the upper wheel passes downward whilenthe exhaust from thelower Wheel passes upward. Situated below the last wheel is' a nozzle l2 which extends entirely around the wheel. This'no'zzleis provided with' a plurality of discharge passages and each passage has the same character as every other passage. The nozzle Vpassages for the preceding wheel also cover the entire bucket area, and so also do the nozzle passages in the preceding stage. The nozzles in the liirst and'second stag'es cover only-a fraction of the total bucket area, but the traction so covered is greater inthe second than in the `first stage.

Motive fluid is' supplied rto the first stage wheel by a plurality oi nozzle sections or passages 13 `each of which is or may be controlled by a separate nozzle valve I4, the latter being actuated by the piston 'I5 lo# rcated in acsuitable cylinder. The action of these fluid motors maybe controlled by electrical or mechanical means or by a combination oi both. In the preferred arrangement these motors are controlled by relay valves and the latter are controlled' by a shaft governor.

As the motive luid'passes through the nozzles a c'ertain amount of'pressure is converted. into velocity which velocity is abstracted wholly'or in part by the bucket wheels. Tl'i'e wheel exhausts /into its chamber or stage arid the steam is then renozzledand the action repeated'. 'I In order to supply the last two wheels with motive fluid means :le provided which are arranged in multiple. As' the motive fluid is discharged from the Athird 'wheel in the present embodiment Vof the invention'a part oit passes direcuy through the nozzles in the adjacent diaphragm and the remainder passes through the conduits'l which are connected to the chamber or passage 17 formed in the base; The latter -communicates with the bowls o thenozzle l2 by means of passages-18. In the conduits 16. are located valves f which may be operated by hand or by.automatic means' las desired. In certaininstances one or more 'of' the .lsarytoghave theselsections Vsuccessively 'increased in Y a' number o nozzle'bowls andthe second section to acerta'm greater number'and'so on. It will'be t JcientL-,to-useone .conduit Vfor "supplying the small A areal. for"example'the.lirstvsection supplies fluid toV 'sections' while weer more` should be employed for supl- 'lplying the large sections. When' all of the conduitsl 16 are shut ofi no iiuid will be supplied to the las't wheel, and it will therefore be idle, but owing to the Y fact that it is rotating ina rareied medium it will offer only a limited resistance to the rotationA of the shaft, and hence the.` machine will have a high eiidiency at' iightioads.. y l

In Fig. 3, .is shown one form o f automatic valve which may be used for controlling the passage of motive Huid from one stage to the next. This valve in addi- `tion Ito controlling the-passage of' duid also tends to maintain an even `pressure in the stage from which the iiuid is received.'l I may employ 'one o'r more of these -valvs and when more than one is provided, the vpreferred arrangement, they should be arranged to o'p-r 3eratefsucc'essively, since-by so doing amore nearly constant stage pressure. will be maintainedn These valves may be Weighted in any suitable manner, either h by a constant 'or by a-variablejweight depending upon the conditionsfof operationi, YIn-y the present illustrac tion vI have shown a spring as indicating a suitable formY of weight. 9J-.represents thel bucket' wheels, 4 the' ',wheel casing,"9 the diaphragmsbetween stages and ll the nozzles-"The casing is provided with an opening 2O opposite the'valve '21; -The valve is of' the piston.v type and -i's 'moved in one direction by the fluid pres' Vsure in the wheel compartment or stage 22, and in an opposite direction 'by a spring or other weight 23. The ypiston 2l is 'provided with a tapered end so' that Y it will present a greater area when opened than when g closed. This arrangement `imparts stability to the Aoperation of the.valve. Surrounding the' piston is a cyl'- inder 24 which'is or may be formed integral with the ceive the adjusting srew 26,' the latter engaging a'n adreceives one end ofthe spring and .is employed tok change'its tension. In order to balance the opposing pressure to which the" valve parts are subjected to "a greater or less extent, a conduit 27 is provided which 'is connected to the cylinder .at one end and'to a stage .oi lower pressure than that towhich the valve is sub,

jected. When the pressure in the stage 22 lexceeds, a predetermined amount one or more of the valves will open against the action of their weightsand discharge fluid into one or more conduits V16. These conduits v wall of the conduit-16. The end ofthe cylinder is pro-A l vided'with a head 25 which is bored centrally to re- 'just-able abutment located inside of the'cylind'er whichV f will in turn deliver fluid to the sections oi the chamber I `17, and from these sections fluid will pass through the y passages i8 into the nozzle bowls, thence through the nozzle'passages against the lower wheel.

Referring to Fig. l, betweenv the two low'er`wheels for' preventing disto);-

' tion. In the present illustration of my. invention the connection is used between the last two Wheels, only, but it is to be understood that the 'invention is applis' at different pressures. In thepreseut' illustration the connection tak-es the -orm of a cylindr'icalwall. The

,under side of the'rlower wheeLlwheu-infoperatiomnis hotter than tllieupper side,'hen`ce thereis'a: tendency" o bendupwardv Ori'th e"'otherr hand, v p l f-otthe'upper wheeldshotterthan the lower, hence'there is atendencyior 'fwhee o bend' for the, wheel't the upper,

downwardfglt will thus be'fs'een that e'els'frefceive steam for other'luidiromntlie sameA compari- 28 representsthe connection' 4cable to wheels'located in other stages and working ment or shell, hence -the tendency to distortion of both `wheels is equal or sifbs'tantially so, but inopposito` dirction's, and the cylindrical wall 28 transfers the tendency of one Wheel to distort to the otvber and the of my' :invention together with the apparatus which I now consider to'represent the best embodiment thereof; but I 'desire to have it understood that the appara-l tus shown is onlyillustrative; and that the invention can be carried out by other means into `wheel compartments.

=Iing fluid to saidl wheels.

What I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patentof the United States, is,- j 1v. In 'an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination of a high-pressure wheel whose active bucket area is a fraction of thetotal, awheel oflower pressure wliosefentli'e bucket area is substantially active, wheels of similar but lower pressure whose entigo'bucket areas are substantially active, means for conductinggiiuid to `thelseveral wheels. a casing for the wheels, and'diaphragmsldividing the casing 2. In an` elastic-fluid turbine, the combination 'of a high-pressure wheel whose active bncket;nreu is a fraction of the total, a 'wheel oil lower pressure Whose total bucket `area is active, u pair of wheels of stili l-owei pressure whose total bucket areas are active, stationary means a11 anged in multiple for supplying the -pair of wheels of lowest .pressure from the same source, and-'a casing that is common to the wheels.

in n multi-stage elastic-fluid turbine, the combination of a casing, a bucket wheel` u means for dischargingfluid' to a portion of the Wheel, a number of'additionai bucket wheels, a diaphragm between the first and last mentioned wheels, and Huid-discharging devices which discharge iinid simultaneously and in multiple to substantially the entire area of the last-mentioned wheels. i

4. In a multistage elastic-fiuid turbine, the combination yof a casing, a lbucketl wheel, 'a means for discharging fluid to-a portion.of the wheel, a number of additional bucket lwheels operating in separate compartments; and stationary fluid-discharging devices receivingfluid in multiple which are arranged in sets, each set surrounding a bucket wheoland discharging iluidv against it.

5. In a multi-stage turbine; the combination of u number of wheels, each arranged in a separate stage or compartment, nozzles which discharge motiveY fluid tu u portion only of onewheel and to the whole of another, 'an auxiliary-wheel, and statio'nary nozzles which discharge duid in multiple to the whole o f said wheel.

In a. multiestagel turbine, the combination of u numb'er of wheels, nozzles which discharge fluid to a portion 'ofthe high-pressure wheel, stationary nozzles in the lowpressure stage, which discharge fluid. so that it will act on all of the buckets of that stage, and an additionallowpressure wheel in multiple with the first, all of the buckets of which are acted upon by the motive vfiuid.

7. vAn `elastiefiuid turbine comprising,r a bucket wheel,- u casing, and a condenser chamber, in combination with a pair lof bucket wheels located in said chamber and discharging into it; and stationary"discharge devices 'deliver- 8. in elasticliiuid turbine comprising,Y a bucket wheel, a

eailng, and 'a condenser chamber, in combination. with a pair of ,bucketwhcels located in said chamber vand discharging tow-ard each other,"and iluid-discharghig means located on opposite sides of the wheels for discharging fluid .against the buckets. '9. neIastic-iiuid turbine comprising bucket wheel, some orwh'icii are partially active and-the remainder fully activ, in combination with a cgnde'user chamber V'located and a valve in said conduit.

between adjacent wheels which are fully active, and-.means for conveying iiuid discharged from a wheel around agiven wheel and discharging it against another.

T10. An elastic-fiuid'-tu1bin comprising' a'caslng, bucket wheels mounted therein, nieansischarging lmotive fluidl against the buckets, diaphragms for dividing the casing Ainto compartments, stage nozzles in said ',diaphragms, a

conduit-for carrying `the motive iiuid around a diaphragm, and a nozzle or nozzles vwhich communicates with andreceives motive fluid -from the conduit and discharges agains Aawhecl.` 11. An elastieuid turbine comprlsinga casing, bucket 'wheels mounted therein, means for discharging motive fluid against the buckets, diaphragms'for dividing' the'cas- 'ing into compartments, stage nozzles in said diaphraglnsa conduitfor carrying the motive fluid around :1 diaphragm, a supply chamber into which the conduit discharges, and nozzle passages which -receive their supply of motive fluid from the chamber and discharge it against a wheel.

phragms forming wheel compartments witllin the casing. and wheels 'located in the compartments. in combination with a condenser chamber, wheels within the chamber, one located at one' end, the other at the opposite end, and noz 12. 'An elastic-fiuid turbine comprisingfa casing,-diu' zles lwhich surround the wheels and-discharge fluid against 'the buckets` 13. An elastic-fluid turbine'comprising a casing having a side wall and heads for closing th'e ends thereof, in combinationwith diaphragms dividing nthe casing into'comA 'partments located between them, wheels for the compart-4 ments, a wheel situated beyond the diaphragm adjacent to the exhaust, a wheel situated adjacent to the low-pressure fluid against the last-'mentioned wheel. 14. An elastic-fiuid turbine comprising a casing` which is divided into wheel compartments by 'diaphragms and \vheels.in the compartments, `in combination with nozzles in s aid diapliragius, a conduit which conveys fluid around a diaphragm to supply a bucket wheelr of iowerpressure,

head, an d a means supported by said head foi-'discharging 15. In an elastic-fluid turbine of the jet or impact type, the combination of a lowpressure stagecontaining two or niore wheels whose entire bucket areal is-actlve, o. preceding stage ot higher pressure 4containing a single wheel whose entire bucket area is also active, ,a stage of still higher pressure containing u'wheel. whose bucket area 'is only partially' active, nozzles for supplying motive fluid to the turbine, and other nozzles which are stationary for conveying iiuid from one stage to' the next, and'whose discharge orifices gradually ncrease-in area .from the highto. the low-pressui'estagc. 16.` In an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination of n casing, a diaphragm or wall for dividing the casing into stages or wheel compartments, a number of chambers dclivering iiuid to the same wheel, and conduits foisupplying thechambers from a stage or compartment of 'higher pressure.

17. In an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination of a casing, if'diaphragm or wail'for dividing th e casing into stages or wheelcompartments, a number oi' chambers delivering duid to the same `wheel, conduits for supplying thechambers from stage or compartment of higher presA.

i e y sure, and success v operating val-ves controlling the passage of iiuid through the conduits;

18. In an el'ssti'chuid turbine, the combination of a casing, a diaphragm or Wall for dividing vthecasing into stages o r wheel compartments, a`number of'chambers of different capacity receiving fluid/trom n common source ing fluid -against-them in suchfmanner that one side of` each elementis hotter than the other, and a cylindrical l wall .located near the buckets for connecting the elements so that their tendency to distortion is neutralized.

20. In an elastic-fluid turbine, Ithe cbnibination o'f 'a 'bucket wheel bf large diameter, an incloslng casing, a'.- second wheel also o f large diameter and located within the casing. o cylindrical wall located between the wheels' and at a point naar their perphcres, and momies fles disp-har@ ing fluid to the opposite sides respec vey of said bucket wheels.

21Y In a multi-stage mbina the combnailo'n of u caslng, diaphragme ividng the casing intsompartments, ntejna uhouke's's to support we revpragms, 11gh-p.es sure wheels., mzzl-1s whieh discharge mathe uld to a portion of each oifnqai whgels, che attel: being arranged to re ceive mav'ifd in sei-lgs, low-measure wheels arranged to regiv'emotiye u imm the high-pressure wheels, all

i i b.

of the Abuclreas of which use acrive, and stationary nozzles arranged to direct the n mt:A Smid agallas; the buckets of Je 10W-pressure whe@ In witm... whereof, fth day nf Muy, 1904;.

uwe heeuut set my hand this JUNGGREN.

Witnesses EDWARD Winnmms, 31'.,

HELEN GRFOHD. 

